Darja Charapova

A magical surprise delivery arrived today from the wonderful Darja Charapova.
I had a poem I thought might suit Darja's style, as her work often involves strong looking women, trees and a yellow palette.

The Last of the Fairies

Elderly, she dresses in foliage of the brightest yellow.
It doesn't look quite right
on her broken, wrinkled bows.
But tis the colour that makes you notice
her at all, and love her.
For she is old and dying, out in that field,
that without manners has been ploughed right over the toes of her roots.

Time has changed, and now she is in the way,
standing alone as she does,
in the middle of that field.
Soon they will come,with chainsaws to chop
and diggers to grub out
the last of her remains. Dictates of order and symmetry
driven by man and machine
finally will
remove the magic of the countryside.

But for now she dresses in yellow.

The tree was an old oak fairy tree in the middle of a field, near our old house where Freya was born. It still stands and has startlingly yellow foliage at this time of year.
Thank you so so much Darja I love your illustration and the special magical story that you have written to explain the transit of this beautiful art . . . I will treasure it.